Hearing loss and activities of daily living (Bessen et al., 2025)

<p dir="ltr"><b>Purpose: </b>Experiencing difficulty with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs (IADLs) and/or the consequences of unmet ADL/IADL-related needs is associated with adverse health-related outcomes. The association of hearing loss (HL) with experiencing the consequences of unmet ADL/IADL-related needs is not well understood. We investigated the associations of HL with experiencing ADL/IADL difficulties and the consequences of unmet ADL/IADL-related needs in older adults.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Method: </b>We investigated cross-sectional associations between audiometric HL, the number of ADL and IADL difficulties, and the number of consequences of unmet ADL/IADL-related needs among adults aged 65 years and older in the National Health and Aging Trends Study.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Results: </b>In 4,724 older adults, 30.5% (<i>n</i> = 1,736) and 30.9% (<i>n</i> = 1,727) had self-reported difficulty with ADLs and IADLs, respectively. Of the 2,289 participants who reported difficulty with at least one ADL/IADL, 14.0% (<i>n</i> = 741) reported experience of at least one consequence of an unmet ADL/IADL-related need. In multivariable ordinal regression analyses, mild (<i>OR</i> = 1.38, 95% CI [1.1, 1.73]) and moderate or greater (<i>OR</i> = 1.57, 95% CI [1.17, 2.1]) HL were associated with higher odds of difficulties with additional ADLs. Moderate or greater HL was associated with higher odds of reporting difficulties with additional IADLs (<i>OR</i> = 1.59, 95% CI [1.19, 2.12]). There was no significant association between HL and higher odds of having additional consequences of unmet needs.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Conclusions: </b>Our results show an association between HL and a higher number of ADL and IADL difficulties. Adults with HL may require increased support to address difficulties with daily activities and prevent experiencing related consequences.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Supplemental Material S1.</b> Associations between hearing loss, ADL/IADL difficulty, and experience of unmet ADL/IADL-related needs (hearing loss modeled as continuous variable), National Health and Aging Trends Study, Round 12.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Supplemental Material S2.</b> Associations of hearing loss, ADL/IADL difficulty, and experience of unmet ADL/IADL-related needs excluding participants relying on proxy response, National Health and Aging Trends Study, Round 12.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Supplemental Material S3.</b> Characteristics of participants with self-reported ADL or IADL difficulty stratified by hearing loss category, National Health and Aging Trends Study, Round 12.</p><p dir="ltr">Bessen, S., Garcia Morales, E. E., Zhang, W., Martinez-Amezcua, P., Umoh, M., Cudjoe, T. K. M., Schrack, J. A., & Reed, N. S. (2025). Hearing loss, difficulty with activities of daily living, and experience of consequences of related unmet needs in older adults: A cross-sectional analysis. <i>American Journal of Audiology</i>, <i>34</i>(1), 127–138. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJA-24-00183" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJA-24-00183</a></p>